Dragon's Fire
by emisaXD
Summary: Aang thought that dragons were extinct--but now he has to find one to save the world. Lots of Sukka and some Kataang. Please, please review! All reviews are appreciated!
1. Chapter 1

She needed to get away. Her lungs were screaming for air and sweat was trickling steadily down the side of her forehead. But she couldn't stop. She had always enjoyed running, but these days it had become a necessity rather than the early-morning treat it had been on Kyoshi.

Suki's thoughts began to drift, but she quickly focused them back to finding a way through the thick wood. Iroh had told her not to come back. It was too dangerous.

She had escaped from the Fire-nation prison along with Iroh, and as many people as they could save before the guards had come. They had set up a small camp, hidden deep in the forest, and for a long time, they lived peacefully. They almost forgot they were fugitives, hiding from the most dangerous person in all four nations. Princess Azula. But today, they had been forced to remember. They had finally been found, and dispersed like a dandelion as all the escapees ran in a different direction.

Suki was heading west. She didn't know how she would find the place she was heading, but she promised herself she would, one way or another.

She was going to find the Avatar

After running for a long, long time, she came to a small village. She took the chance to get some food. The cheapest food she could buy was at a small cart of cabbages on the street corner. She went over to the merchant and handed him all of the money she had—a few bronze pieces. He handed her some cabbages in return.

"You are wearing traveling attire, yes?" He asked, eying her, "where do you head?"

"Across the Serpent's Pass, then to the west, to the old Air Temple, I'm going across the pass to avoid the mountains there," she answered.

The merchant's eyes lit up. Yes! I head that way again. I have been looking for someone to travel the Serpent's Pass with, for I can't afford a ferry. What do you say, I'll give you a ride and you'll give me some extra hands and eyes?"

Suki considered. "Sounds good," she said. "Why are you heading in that direction?"

"Well I was in Ba Sing Se, but then my cabbages were _crushed _ by these horrible children, eh? So I was then heading back to my farm to get some more cabbage to sell, eh? But I couldn't get back to the city, because when I got back, the Fire Nation had, pickle my pants, the Fire Nation had _taken over _in Ba Sing Se. And I couldn't get back in, so then I've been sellin in all these small towns since then, but business has not been boomin' so then I would go across the Serpent's Pass to Damashi, which ain't as big as Ba Sing Se but ain't tiny either and now I am, eh?"

Suki nodded and pretended to listen. "So when are we leaving?" she asked.

"As soon as possible!" hollered the little cabbage merchant, doing a little jig, "Purple my pigniggle, we'll be out of here first thing tomorrow!"

They left just as early as the Merchant had promised, packing up the rudely crafted donkey cart well before sun-up. It was a bumpy ride over the dirt road, and Suki was constantly having to listen to the Merchant's stories of Ba Sing Se, none of which could be called entertaining. The only way she entertained herself was by bouncing her legs of the edge of the cart and listening for the strange expressions that the merchant used, such as 'gobble my gufflenug' or 'pummel my pumpernickel". They carried on like this for two days before they reached the pass.

When they came to the arch at the beginning of the pass, Suki turned to the cabbage merchant and told him to let his donkey loose.

"WHAT?!" Roared the merchant. Why would I do that? Edna here is a good, strong donkey, and I've had her for years with no complaints, save that she left a couple of unwanted pies here and there."

Suki insisted that he leave the donkey and cart on this side of the pass, The trail was very narrow in some parts, and an entire section had fallen away, except for a small island in the middle that Toph had earthbended up last time they were there. Very reluctantly, the Merchant left his donkey and cart behind.

They started across the pass, and came to the part where they had to swim.

"I'm not so sure about this." Said the merchant, his voice shaking. "I'll just go back to the entrance, find Edna and my cart, and sell in them little towns I was selling in before, eh? Yes, I think I will."

"NO!," protested Suki. "This could be your only chance to get across, you might not find another traveler to go with you. Please, sir. _Please!_"

After some time they agreed that if Suki carried him across, he would come. Before they got in the water she warned him not to splash, not to make any sudden movements or loud noises in the water.

"Why would that be bad? He asked.

Suki warned him that unless he wanted to find out why this was called the Serpent's Pass, he wouldn't move a muscle. The warning worked and he was quiet as a mouse the whole swim.

They decided to stop for the night at one of the larger, flatter places on the path. Suki recognized it as the place she had stayed last time she had crossed the path. She fought tears as she thought of Sokka and wondered where he was now. The tears won, and that night, she silently cried herself to sleep.

They were across the pass by noon the next day. They parted ways, splitting the leftover cabbages between them. Suki set off without a backward glance. She walked west, as fast as her legs would carry her. She knew where the Avatar was; she had eavesdropped on every bit of gossip she heard about strange flying bison and boys with arrow tattoos. He was heading to the Air Temple, and so would Suki.

After a few days, she arrived there. She had to swim across a wide channel, but her hope kept her going. She thought of the friendships that she had missed for so long. And she kept going

The sun had just started to kiss the horizon when she got there. But she had an unforeseen problem. She couldn't get there. After all of this work. After so many miles. All for nothing. It was on the bottom of the cliff, and she had no way to got there. Suddenly, she noticed how hungry she was. She licked her cracked, dry lips. Her head was spinning. How long had she gone without food? It didn't matter anymore. Nothing did. She gave up.

Sokka needed to head back now, it was dusk and the sun was sinking fast. But his basket was virtually empty. He kept pushing through the bushes, hoping to find something eatable that he could take back to camp.

He found something. It wasn't eatable, but he was definitely going to take it back to camp with him.

He knelt beside the frail figure in the grass, and turned her over so he could see her face. When he did, he almost fainted himself.


	2. Chapter 2

Suki moaned and opened her eyes. Blurry faces swam through her vision. She started to ask who they were, but then she remembered who she was. And where she was. There was no one with her on the edge of this cliff. She was disgusted by her own weakness and her hallucination. Rolling back over and closing her eyes, she tried to block out the illusion.

A gentle hand rested on her shoulder. It was soft and sure and warm. She liked it. "Suki" someone said softly. She clenched her eyes tighter. _Not real. _She told herself.

Another hand placed itself on her waist, rolling her over and holding her up. _Could it be real?_ She asked herself. She opened her eye the tiniest bit. It took a minute to focus but once the faces came into view once again, her heart leapt.

It was the Avatar and his companions. She opened her other eye, and looked at the person holding her. Sokka. It felt so good to be in his arms after all this time. He met her eyes and gave her a small smile. "She's awake," he said.

"Is she hurt?" said a deep voice from behind her. She didn't recognize it. She turned her head to find its source. Zuko.

She jumped to her feet, ready to defend herself, but she was still weak. Her legs did not have the strength to carry her weight. She swayed precariously. Sokka rushed to catch her.

"It's okay," he assured her. "Zuko is good now. He's helping us. He's Aang firebending teacher."

"Really?" She looked to the other members of the team to confirm this. Toph and Aang nodded. Katara stood stiffly, not shaking her head, but not nodding either. This fact was slightly baffling to her, and she decided not to ponder it further until she had the strength to walk. "Could I have some water?" she croaked.

Katara picked up a cup near her feet. "I thought you might need some," she said, handing Suki the cup. Suki sipped it gratefully. It was cool, and it gave her a new energy that spread itself throughout her veins, making her feel alive again. She sat up, glad to have the strength to move herself again, but slightly regretful that she was removing herself from Sokka's arms.

"Why are you here? What happened while I was in jail?" Suki had endless questions whirling around her head, these were just a start.

"Well Aang kept training for a while, then we found the date of a complete solar eclipse, and planned a massive invasion for that day. The point was for Aang to defeat the Firelord while the firebending was out- but that didn't happen. That's pretty much everything you need to know. What's happened with you? How did you get here?" asked Aang.

"Well the only reason I'm here today is thanks to Iroh. It was amazing. He broke me and several prisoners out of jail, and we made a small settlement in the woods for a while, until the Fire Nation found us. Then we all ran off in different directions. From all the gossip I heard about Avatar sightings, I figured you were here."

Several of the others began to ask questions, but Zuko jumped in first. "My uncle? What happened to him?"

"He is amazing. He broke people out of jail! I'm sure he managed to get away from the Fire Nation."

Sokka seized the next opportunity to talk. "How did you get here? I mean, I hear there are some pretty nasty mountains to the east of here."

"I traveled across the Serpent's pass with a fellow traveler, and avoided the mountains," she answered.

A flurry of questions came from all directions. Suki's head was spinning. She couldn't handle the pressure. All she wanted was some rest.

Katara noticed this and came to her rescue. She looped her arm through Suki and said, "You must be horribly tired. Come with me, I'll find you something to sleep on, and something to wear. Those prison clothes are dreadful dirty." The girls made their way into the small room where they kept their things. They found and extra sleeping bag, and started to go through clothes. They laughed at the strange styles in the Fire Nation clothes. Suki tried on several outfits, all different. She finally settled on a midriff-baring shirt with a pair of pants, a lot like Katara's.

The next morning, Suki awoke to a breakfast of scrambled eggs, cooked by Sokka. She was a little worried about how raw they were, but she ate them anyway, not wanting to offend. It seemed that she was the last one out, the 'Aang Gang' were all there, along with some people she had only just been introduced to, like Haru, Pipsqeuak and the Duke. When she sat down between Zuko and Sokka and said good morning, Zuko didn't respond. He had a cloudy look in his eyes, and his brow was furrowed tightly. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Huh?" he said, startled out of it's daydream. "Oh, I was just…thinking."

"About what. Come on, tell me."

"Just…my mother. I think about her sometimes. I wonder if she could still be out there."

Now it was Aang's turn to look forsaken. "At least you had parents. I never knew mine. No one loves me."

"That's not true! I love you." Katara jumped in, regretting it immediately. "You know, like a sister," she added.

Sokka broke into a brutal coughing fit after this remark. When he noticed that all of the eyes had turned to him he quickly excused this by saying, "Wow, these eggs are kind of dry, aren't they?"

Suki looked down at the runny mess on her plate. Sokka wasn't very good at covering or himself. She decided to change the subject. "So, what's the daily routine around here? What can I do, what are you all doing?"

"Well," started Aang. "I was thinking about going down to the find this air temple's sanctuary today. Remember that room with all the Avatar statues in the Southern Air Temple? All air temples have one. It's a good place for me to meditate. You can come if you like."

"I'm not going to meditate…but I'll come along. It sounds like an interesting place."

Later that day, a small party set out to find the sanctuary. Pretty much everyone that Suki really liked came; Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Zuko. She hated to be judgemental, but she wasn't very fond of the others staying at the air temple. She was especially wary of Haru, who she had bad first impressions of from the moment theny had met.

They found the sanctuary without too much trouble, because it was the only door in the building that had a large, air-activated lock. They entered, and Aang went to the center of the room to meditate, and the rest of the group examined the exotic room in awe.

There were statues of every single avatar, spiraling around the room and up to the ceiling. In fact, she wasn't sure there was a ceiling. She could see the Avatar statues all the way up until everything faded into oblivion. She quickly set about to the task of finding Avatar Kyoshi. She was distracted a moment later though, when Zuko called everyone over to some writing on the walls.

Everyone huddled around as he read the writing to them. "It's a prophecy," he said. "One day, a war will come about. The Avatar must save the world from the horror and violence blooming from the Fire Nation. If he wants to win, he must fight fire with fire. He must see the


	3. Chapter 3

The six that had been to the sanctuary left early the next morning. Zuko and Aang were already reluctant to take Suki, Sokka, Toph, and Katara to the Sun Warriors Village, much less the whole encampment, so they snuck out of bed early in the morning, with a note not to panic in their absence.

Aang led them into a small cave where he had been keeping Appa. The bison let out a grunt of delight upon seeing Suki. The amazing creature no doubt remembered how she and her warriors had helped him when he had been lost and frightened. He nuzzled her excitedly, knocking her off her feet and almost out of the cave. She brushed herself off, giggling, and looked up to where the other five had already climbed on top of the enormous beast. Aang gestured for her to climb up too, but she hesitated for a moment. Although she had spent a lot of time with Appa, she had never actually ridden him.

Once they were all safely on, he took off with a swoosh, and Suki had to hold fast to the saddle to keep from feeling as if she would fly off. They flew for a while, as Katara used her bending water to make a cloud to conceal them from any unfriendly eyes that would happen to be patrolling the country below. Finally they came to it. Suki let out a small gasp as she surveyed the ancient city below. The yellow stone buildings seemed to be made of gold as they reflected the morning sun. She expected Aang to land in front of the large palace in the center of the city, but he kept flying until they came to a mountain with a large clearing in it. There was a long and steep staircase in the middle, with a platform on top.

"What is this?" she asked.

"This is where I learned to firebend," replied Aang, starting to ascend the great stairs.

"Wait," said Zuko. "Would the Sun Warriors be angry if they found us here? And we didn't bring a fire from the eternal flame. Ran and Shao might be angry. And I don't want to see a dragon when it's angry."

"Don't worry," said Aang optimistically. "They already judged us worthy once." He started climbing again, and this time the others followed. He reached the top and waited. Nothing happened. "Hello?" he called. "Hey Ran, hey Shao. We came to talk to you!" Again, nothing.

Then a deep rumbling started from the insides of the cliff. It sounded like the world itself was collapsing from the inside. Suki tensed, preparing herself for the worst.

A blue streak shot from the opening in front of her, coming at her at top speed. She wanted to recoil in terror, but she reminded herself that she was a warrior, and stood her ground. She noticed that behind her Katara had thrown herself at Aang, causing both of them to blush as red as the other dragon now circling them. The dragons made a ring around them, spinning furiously. They kept going faster, and faster. It made Suki dizzy.

"Hey, guys," called Aang, apparently unfazed by their sheer size and greatness. "We came to ask you about the first dragon ever."

The dragons stopped, abruptly, as if they had run into a wall. They turned to face Aang. "The firssssst draaagon." They whispered together.

"Yeah, we just kind of wanted to know… if he exists."

This time, only one spoke. It was deeper and louder than the soft hiss before.

"The first dragon was noble and great. It was from her that all dragons came. She is the reason all dragons live. We are all linked through her. She is alive. We are all linked to our great mother. She is the source of all our power. She is alive"

"How do you _know _that?" snapped Katara. "Where is she? We need some specifics. We're on _kind of _a tight schedule, here!"

"They know Katara," Aang tried to calm her down. "She is the source of their life, like the earth is for us. If she dies, they die. That's how they know she's alive."

"You are wise, young Avatar." Said one dragon. With a great sweeping of her wings, she took off towards the sun warrior village. The group stayed on the platform, unsure of what to do. The other dragon was still sitting there, watching them attentively. They exchanged looks, wondering if they should leave or stay. Luckily, the decision was made for them because the dragon returned moments later, with a glowing gem in her hand.

"This will help you find her," was all the dragon said in way of explaination.

Zuko and Aang exchanged looks as they recognized it as the stone that had set off a booby trap at the Sun Warrior temple. He shoved it into the arms of the closest person. Suki. It was heavy, and it seemed to have a something pulsing inside of it, keeping time with her own heart.

It seemed peculiarly…alive.

"Let my help you with that thing, Suki," said Sokka, coming forward and reaching out to her.

"No," said a dragon, so forcefully that all heads turned in it's direction. "It is imprinted on her now. She must carry it's burden."

"That's ridiculous!" scoffed Sokka. "How can a gem imprint itself on someone."

"Don't argue with me," said the dragon, decisively.

He couldn't argue with a dragon.

It was too late to go any further, so the team set up camp in the woods outside the Sun Warrior village. They were so exhausted that they simply threw their stuff on the ground. Aang, Toph, Zuko, and Katara had all drifted off, and Suki was finally settling down, when someone shook her awake. "Suki," said Sokka. "Come with me." He led her away from the clearing. "I haven't been able to get you alone since you got here."

"Yeah, I guess it was pretty much nonstop from the time I arrived," she agreed.

"I'm happy you're here. It's amazing. I had no idea where you were, I was worried. I though you were, you know—dead. Not that I ever gave up hope because I didn't and I always cared, it's not an insult that I though…" she silenced him with a finger across the lips.

"Did you really bring me all this way to say that?" she asked.

"Well, I'm just glad you're back. We haven't seen each other since the Serpent's Pass. I just wanted you to know if you were okay. You must have gone through hard times in prison. I'm here if you need me."

Suki ran at him, pulling him into a deep hug. She breathed in his scent deeply and smiled. His smell was always so comforting.

The two tiptoed back into camp, and after checking to make sure that Katara and Aang were sufficiently far apart, Sokka lay down and closed his eyes. Suki watched him for some time, but hen realized her own fatigue, and curled up around the curiously warm gemstone that now belonged to her.

Suki was awakened the next morning by a peculiar rattling in her arms. She groaned piteously and cracked open her eyes. She opened them even wider when she discovered a thin crack was forming in the surface of her gem. It widened, along with her eyes, until the stone finally broke apart.

Inside there was a small, curled-up form. It gradually unfurled, raising its long, scaled neck, and unfurling its thin, bat-like wings. It looked up at her with its large, watery-blue eyes. They made eye contact, and Suki smiled as the creature let out a small squeak. She had her very own baby dragon.


	4. Chapter 4

Staring back at her were huge, icy-blue eyes. The creature had shimmering white scales, that shone different shades of blues and purples in the faint sunlight. It had large, bat-like wings and a long, spiky tail. It was one of the most beautiful things that Suki had ever seen. 

She was contemplating how to name the dragon when she heard a choking noise from behind her. "Su—ah—buu—wha?" Came Sokka's voice from behind her. 

She reached back and pulled him so that he was standing beside her, looking at the dragon. "You know that gem Ran and Shao gave me?" she asked. "It was a dragon's egg. It hatched."

The rest of the camp was starting to rouse themselves by now, and they gathered around the small dragon. "Ah," said Aang knowingly, "I was wondering how that gem would lead us to the mother dragon. Now I get it."

"I still don't," said Sokka, sounding slightly agitated, the way he always did when he was not the one in control of the situation."

"You see," started Aang. "Dragons are all connected to each other through a shared network of power. They can feel each other from far away, and they can track the ones that they are directly related to, through and even stronger bond that they have. This dragon is the offspring of the first dragon herself."

"How do you know these things?" shouted Sokka.

Aang shrugged nonchalantly, "Thousands of former lives does that to you."

"How will he—or she, lead us anywhere. It's tiny," said Suki.

"Good question. We will need to wait here for a while, so it can learn to fly, and such," Aang responded.

"What!" we can't stay here that long! We have to beat the Fire Nation before they achieve WORLD DOMINATION!" Sokka's voice steadily climbed octaves as he said this, so by the end he was practically squeaking. Katara and Suki giggled. This caused a slight blush to come up in Sokka's cheeks, which in turn made Suki swoon. 

"So," said Suki. "What should we name it? Is it a girl, or a boy?" 

"Good question," was her only reply.

"Who's going to check? Not it!"

The group consulted each other, and mutually agreed that Sokka should be the one to carry out this task. He protested heatedly, but Suki had a proposition. "I'll give you a reward if you do," she said with a smile. 

"What kind of reward," he regarded her suspiciously.

She flung her arms around him, and their lips met. Sokka responded eagerly, pulling her towards him. Suki wanted to kiss him forever, but realized that there had to be something left for the reward. She broke the kiss, and told him, "You get another kiss. If you tell me if the dragon is a boy, or if it is a girl."

Some minutes elapsed as Sokka tried to find the best way to go about finding the baby dragon's gender, without getting burned by one of the involuntary puffs of flame it sneezed out every now and then. After about fifteen minutes, Sokka came back over to the group, and said. "It's a g-girl." His cheeks were red and he seemed very uncomfortable. 

Suki turned to Aang, upon hearing this, and asked, "Who was the last female firebending Avatar?"

"Hmmmm, it's been a while, but the name Draaka comes to mind. 

"Draaka it is, then." Suki christened the dragon. 

After observing the young dragon for some time, the gang discerned that they would have to wait to set out again until she could fly, and control her random outbursts of fire. Suki did not know how long this would be, but she did not particularly care. 

The dragon was sweet, and loved affection. It reminded Suki of the cat she had had back on Kyoshi, named Koizumi. Suki loved animals, and was happy to once again have a small creature huddled by her side at night.

She also enjoyed it, because not only did she give Sokka his reward, but he returned it to her, and they came in the habit of giving them, even with no prior service having been performed to deserve it. Which is to say, they rather enjoyed kissing each other, and being around each other in general. 

They were all going to bed after a long, slightly shocking day, when a sudden idea hit Suki. "Toph," she inquired, rolling over to face the girl. "You see through the ground. You can see pretty much every nook and cranny there is, on a person or inanimate object. Couldn't you have told us that Draaka was a girl?"

Toph smiled, menacingly. "Of course, I knew. Just thought we could have some fun." With that, she rolled over an went to sleep. 


	5. Chapter 5

Suki was astonished at how fast Draaka grew. Within a week, she was up to Suki's hips, and flying with care, and halfway through then next week she was ready to start leading the group towards their goal. She could also understand if she was spoken to, although she could not yet speak fluently, like Ran and Shao. 

They were reluctant to leave, after such a blissful period of rest, but knew they had to. The fate of the world was in their hands. If Suki was a normal world citizen, she would have been deeply disturbed that her fate would be determined by a small group of mismatched, hodgepodge-y hormone-crazy teens. Especially, she added, a blind one, as she had to gently steered Toph out of the way of a rampaging monkey-wasp. Toph, instead of thanking her, exploded, saying, "I wish for once I could find _someone _who respected me and realized I was just as powerful and capable as the rest of you. Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I'm helpless!"

"Toph," said Suki, trying to remain composed. "I just didn't want you to get stung. Be reasonable."

"Haru says that I'm perfectly reasonable, just wanting some respect. Respect that I deserve, he says!"

"I don't hold Haru's opinion in very high esteem," retorted Suki, but only to herself, she was worried about what the response would be if she said that out loud.

The six walked for hours, as long as they could without collapsing, and then more still. When all of their stomach's growls had turned to deafening roars, they stopped for a small meal. As Suki's eyes traveled across the faces of the group, she choked on her food. She had to struggle to breathe, because she was laughing, choking, and trying to swallow all at the same time. She could have sworn that some of her noodles slipped out her nose. 

Zuko looked at her, concerned and puzzled, as Sokka and Katara patted her on the back, trying to extricate the final pieces of food lodged in her throat. "What?"

"You looked…alarmed," she said, giggling. It was true, his eyes had been stretched wide as saucers, his mouth hanging slightly open.

"Oh…" he responded, not having been aware of the expression he was making. "It's just … it feels… funny here. Do you feel it? I feel so…powerful. It's strange. 

Aang beamed. "Don't you know what that means? We're getting closer. Closer to the Mother Dragon!"

Two days later, the kids were exhausted, parched, and hopeless. Draaka flew on, unfazed. They didn't know how much longer they could go on, and they knew it wouldn't be long. 

Early that day, they rejoiced when Draaka landed at the foot of a steep hill, nudged Suki, and squeaked "here!" in her developing dragon voice.

"Thank goodness!" breathed Suki, then looked around for and entrance or door of some kind. Then she gave herself a mental kick for being so naïve. In the world of freaky magic and bending and spirits, they would never have anything to do with something as simple and everyday as a door. "How do you get in?" she asked the dragon.

Without a word, Draaka slunk over to a stone on the side of the hill. She put her foot on the stone, and it started to glow. Dull at first, but gradually and as the light brightened, a hole grew in the side of the hill. When the glow resided, there was a gaping cave mouth where before there was solid earth. The gang packed inside. The tunnel was long, and the only light was from the entrance of the cave. And that disappeared as the hole quickly refilled with impenetrable stone. They stood in complete darkness.

Suddenly, a flame flared to life. Suki looked for the source, and found that Draaka was breathing a steady stream of fire, to light the path for the group. Suki smiled, and found that she had become quite fond of the young dragon. 

With great care, the group worked their way down the tunnel. They came to another wall. This one had a curious emblem of a dragon, as the trunk of a tree, with little branches of flame and smaller dragons coming off of it. She wasn't an expert, like Aang, but she guessed that it was some symbol for the mother dragon. Aang pushed towards the front of the group. He placed his hand over the emblem. His eyes glazed over, immediately. In a few seconds, he appeared to dissolve. "Aang!" cried Katara, pushing everyone out of the way. Desperately, she placed her hands on the emblem in the same way she had. A moment later, she dissolved as well.

(Meanwhile while Aang is dissolving)

_After putting his hands on the strange symbol on the wall, he became semi-unconscious. He barely notice the walls melting away around him, and being replaced by pure blackness. "What is your greatest fear?" hissed a voice. It did not come from a particular source, it came from everywhere around him, at once. He immediately snapped back to consciousness._

_"Uhhh…who is this?" he asked._

_"What is your greatest fear?" repeated the voice. It apparently wasn't in the mood to chat._

_Aang thought about this for a moment. _

_"I-I'm afraid of… I'm afraid of failure. I already failed in defeating the Fire Nation once, I don't want to do it again. I can't." Aang didn't expect this answer, it just came out of him. But the truth of it brought tears to his eyes. And he dissolved again._

Katara came next.

_The question came again. Katara was frantic. Where was she? She couldn't see. She desperately tried to move, but she was held fast by some invisible force. She decided all she could do was answer. She searched for an answer. "I'm afraid of hurting the people I love. Sometimes I get so mad… I lose myself, I don't want to do anything to the people I love, then when I lost myself… I could never come back. I couldn't live with myself." Again, like Aang she passed on._

Toph materialized like the other two had.

_She heard the question. She didn't know what to say. She had no reply. "I don't have any fears. I just want. I want to be recognized for the strength that I have. Not just that I'm blind." The darkness quivered for a moment, wondering whether to let the girl pass, or to throw her back for her insufficient answer. Finally, it let her pass._

Then came Zuko.

_When he heard the question, a face sprang into his mind. "My mother. He said. I'm worried I'll live my life never knowing what happened to my mother, where she is. If she's alive." Again, he passed through._

Sokka materialized in the dark chamber next.

_He didn't know what to say to the question. There was so much he was afraid of. But something stood out from all the rest. "I just got her back." He said. "Suki. I don't want to lose her. I'm worried I won't be able to protect her. I'm afraid that I'll lose her. I love her more than I've loved anyone before." He was let go without a moment's hesitation. _

Suki was the last to come.

_She had contemplated this question before. "I'm worried that I'll lose everyone. That there will be no one in the world who loves me. I'm worried that there's already no one in the world that loves me." And she passed on like the others._

Next thing she knew, Suki was in an enormous cave. Sitting in it were her friends, and an enormous dragon. The first dragon.


	6. Chapter 6

The dragon lowered her head to the level of the kids. "Ahhh, a snack," she purred. "Being shut up in this cave, I haven't eaten for a long time." She smiled, flashing masses of knifelike teeth. The kids immediately struck positions, ready to fight. The dragon smiled again, friendlier this time. "Calm down, I don't like eating humans that much. They have so many bones that get stuck in your teeth. Such a mess." She clucked her tongue, and the group cautiously relaxed.

Aang stepped up to the front of the group, and cleared his throat. It was obvious that he now wanted to get down to business. "We've come for your help," he stated. 

The dragon sighed and rolled her eyes. "This is precisely why I put that test up outside my cave. People used to come in all the time asking me to do one thing or another for them. Heal their grandmother, burn a rival village to the ground, cook their steaks. But it has been so very lonely since then," She sighed again. "I guess since you passed, I'll hear what you have to say."

"Well, we've got some problems with the Fire Nation," he paused, to watch the dragon's reaction. It looked like it was no surprise to her. He kept going, "So I'm the Avatar and I'm kind of supposed to stop them from world domination. So I was wondering if you might be able to…help somehow." He scratched the back of his head nervously as he said this.

"Well, all of you passed my test as honorable people… somewhat." She looked at Toph as she said this. "I'll help you. I have tried to reason with the Fire Nation before and they have ignored me. It's time to teach them a lesson. I shall go to battle with you."

"Ummmm…" started Aang, not sure how he would say this. "No offense, but I think a single dragon wouldn't do much about the whole Fire Nation army."

"Perhaps not." Without warning, the old dragon raised her head in the air and let out a high, keening call. It pierced Suki, a jagged bolt running through her flesh, through her whole body, reverberating in the dark chamber. Suddenly, out of the gloom in the back of the room, came dragons. Lots of them. Aang couldn't count just how many, but it was definitely enough to make a dent in the Fire Nation army. 

"You must do something for me in return, Avatar. For years me and my sons and daughters have had to live in hiding. If anyone knew we were alive, they would come and exterminate us. After we help you win this war, you must restore us. We want to be able to live like normal beings. We can't live in this banishment any longer, dragons love the son. We haven't seen it for decades. Please Avatar. Please."

"Of course."

Preparations sped into motions. Flurries of activity surrounded Suki. All of the Avatar's alliances had gathered for the attack. Armor was made, and training was done regularly. The camp buzzed with anxious excitement. Suki was practicing with her fans when she noticed that someone was watching her. She practically jumped out of her pants when she noticed this, because she had no idea how long he had been watching her. It was Sokka, leaning against a tree on the edge of the small clearing she used to train. He wasn't wearing his usual; half amused, half stupid, expression on his face. This time he was more serious. He was cute when he was serious, Suki couldn't help but notice. The thought made her blush. 

"Can I talk to you?" he asked, tentatively.

"Sure."

"Oh, Suki," he said, his big blue meeting hers. "In that dragon's cave, I realized something. I love you, Suki. More than I even knew. I mean I've always known I loved you, but this feeling… it's overwhelming me. I thought I had loved before. I thought I loved Yue for example, and, in a way I did. But not like this. Never like this. And even if you don't feel the same way, I just wanted you to know. This battle will be dangerous. I just want you to know… if I don't come back I just need you to know."

"Sokka!" Suki was trying to suppress her happiness. She was overflowing. "Of course I feel the same way. I was just… just to timid…and stupid to tell you."

He reached out to touch her cheek. His eyes were wide, and when Suki looked into them, she saw that there was so much more depth in them than people often perceived. The two fell into a deep embrace. As they kissed, Sokka pressed something into her palm. She took it and looked down. It was a silver ring, with waves carved on it. It was nearly flawless, and she wondered how long Sokka had worked to form it. "I just wanted you to have a little piece of me," he said. She vowed to wear it forever. 

Two days later, they were ready for the attack. It wasn't an eclipse, like last time, but they had to take their chances. The Fire Nation needed to be defeated as soon as was possible. The hodgepodgeical group set out at sunrise. Everyone's heart was beating in their throat. Suki felt like she was going to lose her breakfast. She wanted it all to be over. She wanted to spend her time with Sokka, Aang, Zuko and her friends. Just as she was thinking thoughts about how blissful things would be once the war was won, the Fire Nation came into view. And she wasn't so sure they would win the war after all.


	7. Chapter 7

It loomed in the distance, a great monster sprawled on the land, sinister and threatening. Suki's pulse was so fast she was worried her heart would burst out of her chest.

The dragons surrounding them swooped down to eliminate Fire Navy ships. Appa's tail flapped nervously. Even he was feeling the apprehension. As they got closer to land, the dragons divebombed again, to breathe fire on the troops that had gathered on the borders.

Although everyone else in the makeshift army was now starting to commence fighting in the streets of the city, the small group on Appa kept going. They flew, until they reached the massive temple rising in the very core of the Fire Nation capital. They had to find the Fire Lord. They had to defeat him.

Appa landed softly in the courtyard, and the group leapt off him and to the door. It seemed that the guards usually outside the palace entrances were called to battle on the edges of the city. It was eerily calm, and suspiciously too easy to infiltrate the building. They crept down the halls, trying to make sense of the tangled corridors. Aang led the group, using his instinct and connection to the spirits to navigate them.

And then the time came when they reached the chamber of the Fire Lord himself. If Suki thought that she had been nervous before—she was on the verge of going insane now. Here the corridors were not so empty. There were about ten soldiers standing in the hallway. Aang gave the sign for a surprise attack. On the count of three, the group struck. Suki used her new fans with nimble skill. Although the fire nation guards had bending on their side, their large suits of armour were clunky and heavy. She jumped and swung her sharpened fans, kicked and rocketed off the walls.

She found, that although the said suits of armour were resistant to fire, there were many cracks that could be infiltrated by so fine and precise an weapon as her fans or Sokka's sword. The five kids made quick work of the guards. _Five?_ Thought Suki. She looked over the faces around her. Aang, Katara, Zuko, Sokka. "Where's Toph?" she asked.

The others looked puzzled. They had no clue.

Knowing that there was no turning back, the group turned to face the heavy doors separating the Fire Lord's grand chamber from the rest of the palace. Aang turned to them. "You guys had better stay here. This is something I have to do. And I can't let you risk yourselves for my destiny."

Katara jumped in immediately, taking his hand. "We know you have to do this, Aang. But so do we. As a team."

He must have known he could not win this argument, because he simply adopted a solemn face, and turned to put his hands on the thick wooden doors. With a communal shove, they pushed it out of the way and shoved into the chamber.

Zuko turned to face his father. He showed no regret in his face for the fact that he was going to aid in the bringing down of his father. Suki felt a sharp pity for him, what his childhood must have been.

"Hello, father," he said, adopting a battle stance. The Fire Lord showed not surprise. He simply rose slowly from his throne and descended the steps before him. Suddenly, he made a chopping motion with his hand. A great rope of fire swung out, and the entire team had to duck to avoid getting decapitated.

From then, the fight was on. Water splashed, fire blazed, wind blew, and rocks flew threw the air as the group struggled to defeat the powerful man. Finally he started to weaken. Aang sent a strong gust of wind at him, and he stumbled backwards. Zuko put up a wall of flames behind him. He fell through it. And was motionless. There was a thick silence that followed. Suki found herself wondering if she could move, because the silence pressed in on her violently.

"Thank goodness, it's all over," breathed Aang.

"It's not over yet," corrected a high and hateful voiced from the doorway.

Azula entered the room, flanked by her posse; Mai, Ty Lee, and…Suki gasped. She couldn't believe it. Toph and Haru were standing behind her, looking smug when the saw the flabbergasted looks on the groups faces. Well, Haru looked smug when he saw the look on the group's faces. Toph just looked smug in general.

"I know you're going to ask me why we're with Azula," sneered Toph. "So I'll save you some breath. Azula knows how powerful I am. She respects me. She knows what I can do and she lets me do it. I'm free. And now I'm going to get revenge on you impertinent little snotnoses. Ready?"

She bended a wall of rock at the group, and there was a flurry of action. Suki was grappling with Toph, doing her best to stay off of the ground so she could not be seen. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Sokka was fighting both Mai and Ty Lee, with occasional help from Katara and Zuko, who were also clashing with Haru. Azula and Aang were separated from the main part of the fray, battling heatedly.

She turned her back on Toph long enough to see Sokka undercut Ty Lee's feet, conntecting with her ankle, and disabling her. Realizing that she could hardly stand, she hobbled to shelter. Sokka then turned his full attention to Mai.

Toph took advantage of this momentary lapse in focus on Suki's part to trip her with a low wall of earth. Suki fell flat on her back, and her breath left her. Toph cackled, and sent her, along with a slab of stone, flying up into the air. The ceiling got closer and closer. Suki found herself struggling to regain her breath. She struggled to move. Right in the nick of time, she managed to fling herself into the air. It was a long, long fall to the ground. Suki maneuvered herself through the air, aiming her body to her ideal landing place. She landed right on Toph's unsuspecting back. She heard an alarming crack, of bones as her full weight collided with the small girl. Toph struggled from the room, having been injured beyond being able to fight.

As Suki turned around to the others once more, she saw something peculiar. Mai and Zuko were now fighting side by side against Haru. She wondered what had brought on Mai's sudden change in allegiances, but decided it could wait until after the battle. She joined their fight, and Haru, being the coward that he was, soon slunk from the room, tail between his legs.

They all turned to the only enemy left in the room, Azula. Until now, she had been engaged in a dramatic duel with Aang, but suddenly, she stood still, surveying the fierce faces of the kids in the room. "I guess this would be the time that I should surrender," she said coolly. The cluster of kids nodded. "Well," she started, everyone held their breath, thinking this would be the moment they had been waiting for. The fall of Azula herself. The undefeatable, emotionless monster was finally going to surrender. Then she flicked her finger and a bolt of lightning flew out, hitting Katara squarely in the stomach.

Katara gasped and crumbled. Azula laughed. "I really don't think surrender is in my nature," she stated. Then came a sound like a person being punched, hard in the stomach. A shiny black sword had been thrown through her, the source of it Sokka, whose face was slicked with tears over his lost sister. Once Azula fell to the ground, all faces turned solemnly towards Katara.

Aang was by her side. Head in one hand, the other hand holding tightly onto her cold, motionless limb. Through tears, Suki made out the words, "I never got to tell her I loved her."


	8. Chapter 8

Without actually trying, Aang entered the Avatar State. His eyes suddenly glowed with brilliant white light, and he became unconscious to what was going on around him. A moment later, he was in the Spirit World. And he had an unexpected companion. Draaka the dragon.

Aang wanted to ask the dragon why she was there, but he didn't trust his voice, so he followed silently as the beast snaked through the mud. He trudged through the swamp after her, not knowing where she was leading him. At last she led him to a small clearing. And looked at him expectantly.

"Aang," came a whisper from behind him. He whipped around, and standing there was Katara. He stopped, and stared. She had on brilliant white robes that flowed around her, and her hair was loose around her shoulders .

Aang ran towards her, "Katara!" he yelled and ran to her. You're alive. Thank goodness. I was so worried, oh my g—" she silenced by putting a finger over his lips.

"Aang, calm down. I'm not alive. It's just that, when you wished so hard that I wasn't gone, since you have so much spirit-magic on your side—see, I'm not gone. But I didn't come back, either. I can't go back to the earth, but I can come to the spirit world."

"Katara…so you are… you're dead," he couldn't believe it. It was all his fault. If he hadn't gotten her caught up in this war…he couldn't think about what would have been. Then he looked up, hopeful. "It's okay, Katara. I can come to see you every night. I can even bring gifts sometimes, and every once in a while I could bring Sokka and Suki, or something. It will be like you aren't even gone."

"Oh, Aang. She said, and pulled him into a deep embrace. Drops of water fell on the back of his shirt, and he knew that she was crying. He buried his face in her hair and began to weep. "Aang, you need to let go of me. You're alive, and I'm not. I don't want to live a half-life either. I would just depend on your company to be happy. And in a few years… you would move on. I can't live that life, Aang. I need you to let me go, so that I can let go. Once I leave, I can never come back. I need you to say okay."

Aang didn't quite trust his voice, but he knew that more needed to be done than a simple nod. "I couldn't let you live like that, either Katara. All I want is what's best for you. I want you to be happy."

With that, Katara pulled him into a deep kiss. Aang closed his eyes, for a long time. When he opened them, she was gone.

Forever.

A/N: Okay, wow. Someone brought to my attention that Katara kind of died randomly, and there was no explanation. Sorry. It's because I forgot to publish the chapter between chapter six and eight, so if you got totally got confused and hate me now... I'm just that awesome. So now there's a chapter in between and all is well.


	9. Chapter 9

When Aang got back, the world was safe. Zuko was crowned as Fire Lord, and the world rejoiced. Even Sokka, Suki, and Aang went to some of the celebrations, but to the Avatar, the world had lost a little bit of it's color since the day of the battle.

He knew and respected the fact that Katara was happy where she was, he never really got over the loss of Katara. He did everything he could, including begging Zuko to let him upright a statue of his beloved in the very place she had died. Zuko let him, and a year later, a statue was placed there with the engraving:

_Child, Sister, Friend, Mother. _

_She never had a child, but she gave life to a peaceful world._

Sokka and Suki married soon after the war, a loving couple, even when they were mourning. They traveled the world together, on their dragon, catching up on the time they had lost when Suki was in prison. Even though they lost a sister and a friend, they were always happy and at peace together. And so was the world.

El FIN

**A/N: Oh, gosh. I can't believe I just wrote that. It is the cheesiest thing ever. But I hoped you liked it…(Who am I kidding, who could like that?) Anyway, thanks for reading all the way to the end. If you managed to bear with me that long, you're really awesome. **


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